Childhood injuries in Connecticut's Medicaid managed care program

This study describes childhood injuries and injury-related care using encounter data from a Medicaid managed care program. Enrollment and encounter data for federal fiscal year 2000 were used to identify children who received treatment for an injury, to identify risk factors, and to describe injury-related care. Twenty percent of children were treated for an injury. Preschool-age children and adolescents, males, whites, and residents of nonurban areas were at greatest risk. Sixty percent of injured children received emergency care or were hospitalized. Length of hospital stay for treatment of injuries was 33 percent longer than admissions for other conditions. E-codes were rarely reported. One of five children in Connecticut's Medicaid managed care program was treated for an injury in a one-year period. Medicaid managed care data can be used to determine the percentage of children who experience injuries, to identify risk factors, and to describe injury-related care.